WOMEN'S VOICE - LLAIS MERCHED

Speaking up for women in Wales in a somewhat satirical fashion. Campaigning on key issues affecting womens lives. Well behaved women seldom make history.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The
2012 Initiative for an Academi
Heddwch plus
historical summary of campaigning for
a Peace
institute
in Wales

Stephen
Thomas records that the WCIA initiated the idea of a Welsh Peace
Institute in 2008 (e-mail* to Ben Gregory, Kelvin Mason, Jill Evans
MEP and Jill Gough CND Cymru). Stephen introduced it at the Peace
Festival in Bangor 18-19th October, where Jill Evans spoke
in support [1]. Jill saw the Military Academy
to be built in St Athan as the catalyst
for the idea of a Peace Academy [2], a view echoed by Adam Price MP
who had nevertheless argued for Wales to win the project in the
Westminster committee [3]. Peter Sutch of Cardiff University
formulated an alternative educational/ academic concept* in Nov. Nic
Wheeler of UCW Aberystwyth was interested, came to the 4th
July Cynefin y Werin meeting, but later backed off.

A
coordinating group met in Bangor alongside the October 2009 Festival
and agreed to take it up through Cynefin y Werin, with a first
meeting in Aberystwyth on 14th March 2009 (reported by
Kelvin Mason in Peace News, April 2009 [4]). Invitations* to
a working group ‘Project Meeting’ on 4th July
were sent out by Jill Gough (CND Cymru) on behalf of Cynefin y Werin.
It heard cases from Robin Gwyndaf and JC on the title, adopting
'Academi Heddwch' but preferring 'Peace Institute' as the English
form. The meeting agreed on mobilising around a Petition to the
Senedd Committee and was keen to seek broad support, from
organisations far from 'peace' groups, and to avoid any
identification with CND. Campaigning for the Academi would be
non-partisan and aim for support from all political parties. Several
people volunteered to form an interim steering group to progress the
Petition.

The
Petitions Committee application [5] submitted in Sept. 2009 with 1500
signatories led to a cool response* from Rhodri Morgan, who suggested
a university-based collaborative institute, focussing on social
science based research. Nevertheless, the Petitioners continued to
press for a broader concept:

“a
Peace Institute concerned
with Peace and Human Rights, comparable with those supported by state
governments in Flanders, Catalonia and elsewhere in Europe”

Representatives
of the Flanders Peace Institute were brought over to give oral
evidence* to the Committee in Feb.2010). Public meetings in
Carmarthen and Bangor heard addresses from the Flanders
representatives, with a lecture in Aberystwyth. With the new
Assembly elected in 2010, Carwyn Jones was asked for his view* – in
August 2011, he endorsed Rhodri Morgan’s position, declared there's
no WG funding, but still asked for a detailed and fully costed
proposal.

Stephen
Thomas was losing patience with the Petitions Committee by Sept.
2011, and suggested* another way, for Cynefin y Werin to sponsor
peer-reviewed credible research into Welsh situations and issues, and
disseminate this publicly. But his proposal was given limited
circulation and shelved by those still hoping of Senedd progress, so
another year was lost.

Then
in October 2011 the Petitions Committee decided on hearings into the
Petition and put out a call for evidence. Robin Gwyndaf played a big
role in encouraging Welsh organisations to respond to the Petitions
Committee call for evidence, as is evident in the ~70 submissions and
his personal evidence with a published article (see
http://Academiheddwchcymru.blogspot.com). The final output from the
Petitions committee was very disappointing when it came in January
2012.

It
stalled the Senedd process with their decision to:

Forward
the petition and information gathered so far to the Cross-Party
Group on Human Rights and request that the working up of a concept
for the establishment of such an institution is placed on future
agendas;

Forward
the consultation responses gathered to the petitioners to work up a
concept in parallel and suggest that they lobby individual Members
to hold a Member-led debate in Plenary on the subject.

Neither
of these happened; recently JC hoped (*, p.78) a
Senedd All-Party
Group on Peace would
be formed in 2013, which “may
make it possible to progress this matter”.

Stephen
Thomas sent out an invitation (4th
October, below) to the 9th October 2012 meeting,

(held
following the presentation of the anti-Drone petition, led by Mererid
Hopwood).

His
motivation was the call from Cardiff UNA for a

one-day
conference (as broad-based as possible), to discuss the nature, role
and duties of a Wales Peace Institute and to agree arrangements for
its structure and funding'.

Stephen
wrote in his invitation email (4th October 2012)

..convening
a meeting of those at the Cardiff UNA gathering who expressed a
personal wish to be involved in the next step of the process (8
people). ...also invite those who gathered a couple of times last
autumn to give the Academi Heddwch project a push forward then.

Stephen
explained the intention was

the
creation of a diverging processfrom thediscussion process on the issue within certain parts of the
National Assembly for Wales

A
further meeting on 16 October set up a Steering group to organise the
‘broad-based’ conference under the name Academi Heddwch
Cymru/Wales Peace Academy for 23rd
March 2013 in Aberystwyth. An important target of this separate
initiative was to create a body that would establish the Academi
Heddwch as a project within the 2014 commemoration of the Centenary
of the start of World War I. However, conference preparations were
stalled in February by a clique opposed to a new independent body,
putting the broad-based project in jeopardy.

[5]
Petition Wording: We call upon the
National Assembly for Wales to investigate the potential for and
practicality of Wales having a Peace Institute concerned with Peace
and Human Rights, comparable with those supported by state
governments in Flanders, Catalonia and elsewhere in Europe

Lead
petitioner:Welsh
Centre for International
Affairs, Cymdeithas y Cynod, Cynefin y Werin and
CND Cymru. Number
of signatures:1525

From
Stephen Thomas, Cynefin y Werin, 4th
October 2012

Annwyl
Bawb / Dear All,

As
some of you know, I spoke to the Cardiff and district branch of the
United Nations Association 10 days ago on 'The Prospects for an
Academi Heddwch/Peace Institute for Wales'. It was their choice of
topic for noting the International Day of Peace.

At
the end of that meeting a resolution was passed, with no objections:
'..welcoming a one-day conference (as broad-based as possible), to
discuss the nature, role and duties of a Wales Peace Institute and
to agree arrangements for its structure and funding'. It was hoped
that the conference could be arranged by Cynefin y Werin and
could take place 'before the revived enthusiasm for a Welsh Peace
Institute becomes dissipated with the passage of time'.

Cynefin
y Werin has acted - in the first instance by convening a meeting of
those at the Cardiff UNA gathering who expressed a personal wish to
be involved in the next step of the process (8 people). Cynefin y
Werin thought it correct and necessary also to invite to that
meeting those who gathered a couple of times last autumn to give the
Academi Heddwch project a push forward then.

From
this it is aimed to obtain a structure to organise a
subsequent conference in (?) spring 2013. Cynefin y Werin has
committed itself to providing funding for that conference. It is not
intended to detract from what may continue of the discussion
process on the issue within certain parts of the National Assembly
for Wales: but at the very least the creation of a diverging process
was now felt to be worth pursuing.

Please
let me know if you are able to come Tuesday next week; and of any
matters that you wish to input to the process if you are not going
to be there.

Stephen
Thomas of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs, after an
interview on Radio Cymru, kicked off the first day with a lucid
discussion of peace building, credibility and reform within the
United Nations. Jill Evans MEP, Chair of CND Cymru, raised issues of
nuclear proliferation and security in the Middle East, with
special reference to Palestine. She floated the idea of founding a
Wales Peace Institute, a proposal which received support from the
floor. See here

A
small meeting was held upstairs at the Anglesey Arms to discuss the
future of the Wales Peace Festivals, the future direction of Cynefin
y Werin, wider collaboration with other movements and organisations
in Wales, and the idea of a Wales Peace Institute. It was agreed to
progress these discussions at a meeting in Aberystwyth in the New
Year. Kelvin Mason of Aberystwyth Peace Network chaired the meeting,
James Maiden of Cynefin y Werin took the minutes. see here

A
Wales
Peace Institute could
advise and inform the Assembly on policies...Y
Senedd Meeting
with
Nelly Maes and Tomas Baum all welcome...Stephen
Thomas of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs commented:

‘Much
work is already being done in various parts of Wales in the field of
encouraging peace and preventing violent conflict. There is teaching
at schools and universities, academic research, and campaigning on
peace matters. It is fitting to seek to strengthen the efforts of so
many organisations and individuals, through the co-ordination that
would be provided by a national Peace Institute.’

Regular
readers of this page will know that the Cynefin
Y Werin network
is pursuing a major project to establish a Peace Institute … Regular
readers of this page will know that the Cynefin Y Werin network is
pursuing a major project to establish a Peace Institute (Academi
Heddwch), working with academics and others in Wales. The Peace
Institute is likely to be based on the model of the Flemish Peace
Institute. Delegates from Cynefin Y Werin have visited Brussels and
speakers from the institute undertook a speaking tour of Wales. The
Wales project has the rhetorical support of the Welsh Assembly
government but the prospects of any material support from that
quarter seem extremely unlikely.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

To mark International Women's Day, /Links International Journal ofSocialist Renewal/ is publishing an excerpt from Resistance Books'/Comrades in arms: Women in the Russian Revolution/, by Kathy Fairfax,and making available the entire pamphlet to download in PDF format.By *Kathy Fairfax*

The popular image of the Russian Revolution is of a revolution made bymen. Ask the person in the street to name a figure from the RussianRevolution and most could come up with Lenin, Stalin, maybe Trotsky. Afew might have heard of Zinoviev, Kamenev or Bukharin. But how manywould name Kollontai, Armand or Krupskaya? How many know of the womenwho helped make revolution in Russia? How many know about the thousandsof female Bolsheviks who marched through the streets of Petrograd in1917 or shouted revolutionary speeches to cheering crowds or wrote anddistributed pamphlets calling for revolution? In fact, womenrevolutionaries inspired the working class the world over andinaugurated a new era in world history.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Let's turn this International Women's Day into a day of protest against sexual apartheid!

The hundredth anniversary of March 8, International Women's Day, is on its way. On this momentous occasion, we proclaim 2008 as the year against sexual apartheid. We call on people everywhere to condemn sexual apartheid and the political Islamic movement that perpetratesit, and to support egalitarian movements that courageously challenge it.

We invite all to sign the below declaration and call for an end to sexual apartheid.

DeclarationWe, the undersigned, unequivocally oppose sexual apartheid and the subjugation of millions of women living under Islamic rules and laws.

We condemn regimes and the political Islamic movement that perpetrate sexual apartheid, including in Iran.

We support the legitimate struggle of millions of women and men for freedom, equality and universal rights.

Monday, February 16, 2009

WEN say The government’s decision to give the green light to new nuclear power stations flies in the face of women’s views.

72% of women are opposed to nuclear power.1 A recent survey for WEN2 found that 58% would prefer to live near any other form of power station than nuclear and 86% think the government should prioritise investment in renewable energy as the top measure to tackle climate change. Women have been excluded from the decision making process and our voices are being ignored.

and another survey... shows 80% of women are very concerned about climate change. Ninety eight percent of the respondents are keen to see the UK demonstrating world leadership in tackling climate change but 97% don’t think the Government and industry are doing enough.

Women want more green products and carbon labelling of goods (85%), lower prices for environmentally friendly products (85%) and more government grants and incentives for energy efficiency and micro-generation to reduce carbon emissions.

Cardiff Council are certainly not doing enough as the Lib Dems and Plaid carry on with new labour plans to destroy our parks through commercialisation and buld roads and carparks in the park for articulated lorries and sky tv vans!

Friday, January 23, 2009

I am concerned about the threat to my liberty and privacy by the Coroners and Justice Bill being rushed through Parliament and you should be too. Clause 152 of the Bill is due for its first debate in the Commons on Monday 26th January and would convert the Data Protection Act into its exact opposite. It would allow ministers to make 'Information Sharing Orders', that can alter any Act of Parliament and cancel all rules of confidentiality in order to allow information obtained for one purpose to be used for another.

Write to your mp and ask him/her to please read Part 8 (clauses 151 - 154) of the Coroners and Justice Bill, and oppose the massive enabling powers in the "Information sharing" clause. The Bill contains a number of controversial provisions, but could appear mainly to be about reforming inquests and sentencing. It is due its Second Reading in the Commons on 26th January 2009.

These clauses be given proper Parliamentary scrutiny as this will affect every single one of your constituents, unlike the rest of the Bill. I am concerned that the government will set a timetable that will cut off debate before these proposals - which are at the end of the Bill - are discussed. The government must keep limits and monitor the information available to officials.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

With one hurl of his shoes, Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi brought the plight of the Iraqi people to the world's attention. "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq!," he shouted to Bush. We, too, feel anguish for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq and we were moved by al-Zaidi's passionate outcry.

That's why we moved into action to defend him. On Tuesday we confronted the Iraqi Ambassador to the U.S. when he was at a public event. We also took a letter to the Iraqi Embassy, signed by groups around the country, calling for Al-Zaidi's release.

And yesterday, CODEPINK gathered outside the White House and around the country to display shoes representing innocent Iraqis who have died since Bush's illegal occupation of Iraq. In Washington DC we also had a shoe-throwing contest at a paper maché George Bush.(See FLICKR photos).

It's outrageous that Al-Zaidi could get several years in prison for insulting George Bush, who is directly responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million Iraqis and 4,200 U.S. troops, and for the displacement of 5 million Iraqis. The one who should be in jail is Bush, not Muntadar al-Zaidi. Please join us in calling on the Iraqi government to release al-Zaidi without charges. We're bringing the petition with your signature directly to the Iraqi Embassy. Please click here to sign it today